Loans

Loans

Educational loans help many students cover some of their educational costs at Lourdes University. The Lourdes Financial Aid Office offers the maximum amount of Federal Direct Stafford Loans to all students who file a FAFSA and are otherwise eligible. Borrowing student loans can be viewed as an investment in one’s future to help you obtain your degree. Please also remember to borrow wisely as all borrowed loan funds must be repaid. Direct PLUS Loans and Private Loans are other options which can be pursued if students need additional funds to help cover their educational costs.

Federal Direct Stafford Loans are offered by the federal government to assist students in paying for their educational costs. These loans are in the student’s name, and the student is responsible for repaying them 6 months after graduation, or after dropping below half-time enrollment. The U.S. Department of Education is the lender for the Federal Direct Stafford Loan Program.

How Do I Receive a Federal Direct Stafford Loan?

The Lourdes Financial Aid Office will automatically award Federal Direct Stafford Loans to all eligible students when a FAFSA is completed. Students must accept the loans on their Web for Students account (or return their new student award letter) in order for the loans to be processed.

You must complete a FAFSA each year.

You must be attending at least 6 credit hours during any semester to be eligible for Federal Direct Stafford Loan funds.

The first time you borrow a Federal Direct Stafford Loan, you must complete Entrance Counseling and a Master Promissory Note (MPN). Your loan funds will not pay to your account until both are completed.

Please go to www.studentloans.gov to complete both requirements. Sign in using your federal PIN. This is the same PIN you used to sign your electronic FAFSA.

Click on "Complete Entrance Counseling" and follow the steps.

Be sure to submit it at the end and receive confirmation that it is complete

Move on to "Sign Master Promissory Note" and complete all items.

Lourdes is notified that you have completed the Entrance Counseling and the Master Promissory Note. These will be kept on file and should be good until you graduate.

Federal Direct Stafford Loans can be subsidized and unsubsidized.

Federal Direct Subsidized Stafford Loans – the government pays the interest on the loan while the student is enrolled at least half-time and deferment periods. Subsidized loans are awarded based on financial need. This is determined by a student’s FAFSA.

Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans – interest begins accruing (accumulating) immediately when the loan funds are paid to Lourdes University. You can pay the interest while you are in school, and during grace periods and deferment or forbearance periods, or you can allow it to accrue and be capitalized (added to the principal amount of your loan).

How much can I borrow in Federal Direct Stafford Loans?
There are limits on the maximum amount of Federal Direct Stafford Loans you are eligible to receive each academic year (annual loan limit) and in total (aggregate loan limits).

Parents of dependent students can apply for a Federal Direct PLUS Loan to assist their child in paying for college expenses. PLUS loans are packaged to cover the full cost of attendance, including living expenses and other indirect costs, minus other offered aid. You may wish to reduce the amount for which you apply, especially if your child is not living on campus. These loans are in the parent’s name and the parent is responsible for repaying them.

Credit Check

Parents must pass a credit check, (must not have an adverse credit history), to be eligible for the Federal Direct PLUS loan.

If a parent is denied for the Federal Direct PLUS loan based on credit, the student will automatically be awarded an additional $4000 (freshman or sophomore) or $5000 (junior and senior) in Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan funds, which is the amount an independent student can borrow.

How Does My Parent Receive a Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan?

You must complete a FAFSA each year.

You must be attending at least 6 credit hours during any semester to be eligible for Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan funds.

Graduate students at Lourdes University may borrow a Federal Direct PLUS Loan for Graduate Students to help cover their education expenses. Graduate students should only borrow Direct PLUS Loans if additional funds are needed after borrowing all available Federal Direct Stafford Loans. Students must pass a credit check (must not have an adverse credit history) to be eligible for a Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan.

Students in the MBA and NAP programs will automatically be offered the Direct Graduate PLUS Loan up to their full cost of attendance, including living expenses and other indirect costs, minus other offered aid. Other graduate students interested in the Direct Graduate PLUS Loan should contact the Financial Aid Office to check on their eligibility.

Follow these steps to apply for a Direct PLUS Loan for Graduate Students:

The Nurse Education Assistance Loan Program (NEALP) provides financial assistance to Ohio students enrolled for at least half-time study in an approved Ohio nurse education program. NEALP provides funding for nurses who intend to serve as instructors as well as students who intend to serve as nurses after graduation. For more information or to complete the application online, please visit the Ohio Board of Regents website. Please note: you must be formally admitted into the Lourdes nursing program.

Private Loans are loans that a student can apply for in their own name. They come from a private lender, such as a local bank or credit union, or a national lender. Often these loans require a co-signer because approval is based upon the credit-worthiness of the student.

Unlike Stafford and PLUS Loans, private loans are not federally guaranteed and have different interest rates and repayment terms. These interest rates are determined by your credit score, and that of your co-signer if you have one. Some of these loans may also require that interest payments be made while the student is still in school.

The benefits to a private loan are, if approved, you can take the necessary amount needed to cover your balance or cover living expenses. You can also, in many cases, borrow a private loan if you are attending less than half time (less than 6 credit hours).

Please make sure to check that you have exhausted all of your federal student aid resources before applying for a private loan.

If you are interested in applying for one of these loans, please visit the Private Loans page. You will be redirected to Fastchoice.com, which is a service provided by Lourdes to assist you in researching private loan options and lenders.

Please contact the financial aid office if you have any questions regarding private student loans.

Purpose

Lourdes recognizes that ensuring the integrity of the student financial aid process is critical to providing fair and affordable access to higher education. Therefore, Lourdes has formalized the following guiding principles that shall be effective immediately. These guidelines are designed to avoid any potential for a conflict of interest between Lourdes, and its students or their parents, in the student financial aid process. For purposes of this Code of Conduct, a “Lending Institution” is any entity (other than an institution of higher education or a governmental entity such as the U.S. Department of Education) involved in the making, holding, consolidating or processing of any student loans.

Policy

Lourdes employees should receive no personal benefit.
No employee or officer of Lourdes shall accept or solicit anything of more than nominal value on his or her behalf or on behalf of another person or entity from any Lending Institution. Specifically, no employee or officer of Lourdes shall accept or solicit, from any Lending Institution: (i) payment for entertainment expenses or any lodging, rental, transportation or other gratuities related to lender-sponsored activities; (ii) payments for registration, transportation or lodging at lender-sponsored conferences and trainings; (iii) invitations to serve on lender advisory boards and/or payments related to such service. Additionally, Lourdes employees and officers shall not accept or solicit, from any student loan guarantee agency: (i) payments for entertainment expenses or any lodging, rental transportation or other gratuities related to activities sponsored by the guarantee agency.

Lourdes employees should not serve on lender advisory board for remuneration.
No officer or employee of the institution who makes financial aid decisions for Lourdes or who is employed in, supervises or otherwise has responsibility or authority over the Lourdes' financial aid office shall receive any remuneration for consulting services and/or serving as a member or participant of a student loan advisory board of a Lending Institution or any reimbursement of expenses for such service. Any officer or employee of Lourdes who serves as a member or participant of a Lending Institutions board shall recuse himself or herself from any board discussions regarding the institution’s financial aid operations.

Lourdes should not provide any advantage to a Lending Institution.
Lourdes shall not accept anything of value from any Lending Institution in exchange for any advantage or consideration provided to the Lending Institution related to its student loan activities, including but not limited to revenue-sharing, printing costs or below-cost computer hardware or software. 1) Likewise, Lourdes shall not allow any Lending Institution to: (a) staff Lourdes' financial aid office at any time; or (b) communicate with the Lourdes' students or their parents in such a manner as to create the impression that the Lending Institution is an employee or agent of the institution in connection with Lourdes' student financial aid operations, including through the use of mascots, logos, and other marks. Finally, Lourdes shall not enter into any agreement with a Lending Institution to provide alternative (i.e., private, non-federal or "opportunity") student loan programs if the provision of such alternative loan programs prejudices other students or parents, or if the acceptance of such funds by Lourdes is conditioned on the institution providing concessions to the Lending Institution. 2) Lourdes also shall not place a Lending Institution on a Preferred Lender List for a particular type of student loan in exchange for benefits provided to Lourdes, its students or their parents in connection with a different type of loan.

Lourdes should make appropriate use of any Preferred Lender Lists.Lourdes displays a list of private student lenders on FASTChoice. The lenders listed here are those that offer private alternative student loans to our students. Lourdes currently allows any lender that wishes to offer our students a private loan to include their data on our list. Inclusion on our list does not constitute an endorsement of that particular loan product over any other.

You are free to select any lender and loan option, including those not presented. Application processing will not be delayed unnecessarily if you choose a loan option not presented. Please contact a lender directly if their information is not presented here.

We maintain professional relationships with all lenders. Our officials are prohibited from accepting financial or other benefits in exchange for displaying lenders and loan options in FASTChoice. These include: receiving compensation to serve on any lender board of directors or advisory boards; accepting gifts including trips, meals, and entertainment; allowing lenders to staff our institution's financial aid office; allowing lenders to place our institution's name or logo on any of their products; and owning lenders' stock (for those college officials who make loan decisions for our institution).